Stay Gone
by polarpi
Summary: After their performance at nationals, Rachel is trying to find a way to let Finn know she's finally over him. Puck suggests the perfect song to get the message across. A story that looks back at to how these two got to this point in collaboration before moving forward with a different outcome to season 2 events. Fic inspired by Jimmy Wayne's song "Stay Gone".


Disclaimer: Any mistakes are my own – spell-check and my proofreading didn't catch them. I do not own the characters of Glee, the song "Stay Gone" by Jimmy Wayne, the song "Pretending" from the Glee cast, or even much of anything of real value. What do you expect – I have too many student loans to pay off!

Thanks to EJ8302 for prereading and encouraging me to post this! :)

**Stay Gone**

"He just doesn't fuckin' get it," Puck seethed, pacing the room after he pulled Rachel out of the other room when Santana started screaming at Rachel in Spanish. He gets that they're all disappointed that they didn't make it into the top 10, but….fuckin' Finn _kissed_ his girl!

Rachel stepped up behind him, running her hand across his back before cradling his right hand in both of hers. "I know," she soothed, squeezing his hand before cupping his face with both hands. "But I need you to know that it meant **nothing** to me. I'm with you, Noah – I'm never going back to Finn."

"Yeah, well, I wish Frankenteen would get the message," he grumbled, closing his eyes briefly before smiling down at Rachel. "I know you're over him, I just don't think Finn has come to that conclusion."

"Well, I guess I'm just going to have to find the perfect musical message to get the point across," Rachel surmised. "I know there must be an apropos selection in the vast library of musical works, but where to begin?"

"You know, I think I might know of one for you," Puck offered. "I couldn't sing it, because he's not Jewish – and I know, I've started to get away from that recently, but I really don't think he's badass enough for me – so I totally think you should do the song instead."

Puck led Rachel to the desk and booted up Artie's laptop – hey, the dude left it out, and he **did** offer its use to the guys, since they were sharing the room. Once Puck was able to pull up the internet, he Googled the lyrics to the song he was thinking of and showed them to Rachel.

After reading the lyrics, she clapped her hands and smiled. "Fantastic! These will express the message I hope Finn will finally understand," Rachel sighed.

Puck leaned over and kissed Rachel's forehead. "If not, I'll knock the message into him," he said, cracking his knuckles.

"Noah!" Rachel admonished. "You will not resort to violence when words are more acceptable for teaching lessons."

"Okay, babe – I promise I won't harm one hair on Finn's little head," Puck teased, pulling her into his lap.

Rachel smiled, running a hand over his 'hawk as she nuzzled the spot on his neck that always made him squirm. "Thank you, Noah. I'm sure that with the flawless performance I will give of this song, there will be no need to worry about Finn and his untoward advances any longer."

It all started with his role in her "Barbravention".

She couldn't fathom why Noah would seek someone out in the women's lavatory – well, she knew why he had done so in the past, but couldn't imagine why he'd be looking for her.

"Hear me out," he pleaded. "Give me that and I'll never bug you again."

After she agreed to meet him at the mall the following day, he gave her his patented smirk and sauntered out of the room, ignoring the raised eyebrows of Mr. Schuester and the horrified gasp of Miss Pillsbury as he crossed their path. Rachel turned back to the mirror, grimacing as she looked at the bruising.

When she met Noah the following day in front of the mall's entrance, he cocked his arm at her and wiggled his eyebrows. "Walk with me," he stated.

Rachel followed him and when he left her with Kurt as she looked around, questioning where Barbra was, she had no idea what was coming at her. But as they danced around the court, laughing and having fun, she kept seeing Noah in her peripheral vision, and could sense something different about him than the Noah she had dated briefly the year before. Maybe the last year had really helped him to grow up.

After that day, Noah and Rachel began to spend time together outside of Glee. When Mr. Schuester gave the club their "Rumours" assignment, Rachel asked him to play guitar for the song she had chosen. They would practice every chance they got, except when she accompanied Finn on his stakeouts. While sitting in the car with him, Rachel realized that the feelings she had held in the past for Finn had mellowed into a deep friendship – yes, she loved him, but no longer found herself pining over him, and as she saw the hurt cross his face when he spotted Quinn hugging Sam outside, she placed a friendly, comforting hand on his shoulder.

Even the conversations she had with Finn leading up to Prom were indicative of her feelings of friendship toward Finn.

Rolling her eyes, she huffed, "If I want to date Jesse or anyone for that matter, it stopped being your business when **you** broke up with **me**."

Seeing Finn about to argue further, Rachel continued, "Look, all I ask is that **whoever** I choose that you'd be as supportive of me as I've been of you and Quinn."

Prom was the first time she tried to say goodbye to Finn – musically, of course. As Rachel poured her entire heart into singing Jar of Hearts, she watched Finn and Quinn dancing, wrapped up in one another. She let every last romantic feeling out as she sang each line, putting extra emphasis on the line that Finn doesn't "get to get me back."

She observed all the drama that went down with prom queen in a detached manner – she didn't notice how Puck scanned the crowd as he stood on stage, and when Rachel followed Quinn into the bathroom after she ran out, Rachel did everything she could to reassure Quinn that she was done with Finn. "You have nothing to be scared of," Rachel promised. "I'm done running after Finn Hudson – I need to focus on my dreams and my future, and that doesn't include him anymore."

Rachel and Quinn joined the rest of the glee club to support Kurt after his coronation, and enjoyed dancing the night away. After his aborted attempt to spike the punch, Puck joined the others in dancing the rest of the night away, laughing with Lauren as they rocked out to the final songs.

Things settled down for a short while – Puck and Lauren realized that they were better off as partners in crime, rather than dating. Puck and Rachel continued to hang out, working on ideas for Glee club. Puck was trying his hand at songwriting, and would ask Rachel to listen to his ideas. Rachel would listen, and then give him some suggestions on different harmonies to try.

When Sue's sister passed away and Kurt and Finn presented their idea for the memorial to the club, Rachel was the first to suggest that Tina take the female solo, stating that Tina's voice was perfect for those notes. Puck observed everything going on quietly, and that afternoon when Rachel came over to help him with a song that was troubling him, he asked her about it.

"She deserves it," Rachel shrugged. "I can't have every solo, and after I graduate next year, there has to be someone to take over the powerful female ballads. Why not Tina?"

Puck shrugged, and the two returned to working on Puck's song. As Rachel sang for Mr. Schue and Jesse to audition for the solo at Nationals, she had a brief moment where she thought of Finn while singing My Man, but then she got so wrapped up in singing she was stunned to realize she had begun to picture a different guy as she sang.

The day of the funeral, Puck called Rachel as she was getting ready to offer a ride with him and Sam. After a brief hesitation, Rachel agreed, and was grateful to have her friend there by her side as they left the service. They dropped Sam off at the hotel before returning to Rachel's house. The two teens continued to work on Puck's song, but it just wasn't coming together for them to present to the club for consideration for Nationals.

The weeks leading up to Nationals passed quickly, and after their flight to New York and arriving at the hotel, the club found themselves locked into their hotel rooms as Mr. Schue left to "take care of a couple things", instructing the group to stay there until they'd written their songs for their performance, which was three days away.

The teens all broke up into small groups to brainstorm for an hour, so Puck and Rachel immediately moved into one of the other rooms, inviting Lauren and Sam to work with them. The four teens threw ideas around for a little bit, before Brittany came to ask Puck if he'd play for something she and Artie had come up with.

When everyone returned to the main room, they stared in stunned silence as Brittany danced around the room, singing about a cup. Puck smirked as he played along, watching Lauren and Rachel sharing an incredulous look at the absurdity of the song. As the light clapping trailed off and the teens began arguing about getting out into the streets of the city, Rachel was completely against the idea until she heard Puck's argument, agreeing with him when he said, "We're in the artist capital of the world. Poets, musicians, actors, playwrights….every dreamer that's ever lived has passed through this city. If we want our dreams to come true we need to be out there with them, not stuck in here."

When they began to explore different sights around the city, visiting these places that Rachel dreamt about when thinking of her future in New York, she began to relax, singing along with the others and dancing across Central Park. Puck followed alongside her, watching the joy come across her face as he saw Rachel in her element. His mind started clicking, and an idea for a song started to develop.

The group returned to the hotel, and Puck, Finn, Mike, Artie, and Sam found themselves in a room throwing new ideas for songs around. Puck quietly worked on the idea that came to him while the group was out in the city, not wanting to share his idea until he could talk it over with Rachel. Unfortunately, Finn's brooding kept interrupting his concentration, and he finally put his notebook and guitar down in frustration.

"Can we just talk about the Jewish elephant in the room?" Puck asked, rubbing his hand over his head. "Ask her out, dude."

Finn stammered, "I – I can't. She –"

Puck interrupted, "You're in New York, the city of love." He thought he heard Sam murmur something about Paris before continuing, "Anything's possible here." After hearing Rachel discuss this at length the past few weeks, he figured this would be a quick way to finally get Finn to realize it was all over for him with Rachel. "You need to ask her out, tonight."

Finn seemed to accept Puck's advice and walked over to the window of the room, texting someone with his phone. Puck smiled when Finn turned around and said, "Rachel agreed to go out with me. Puck, do you think you could play the accordion and sing to Rachel that song from Lady and the Tramp?"

Puck's jaw dropped. "You want – Rachel said – where the hell am I supposed to find an accordion?"

Finn just shook his head. "Puck, I know you got this. I'm sure there's an accordion somewhere around here you can borrow." Finn walked away, whistling as he went to go get ready for his date.

Puck rolled his eyes, then turned to the other guys and said, "Let's figure out how this will work."

Later that evening, Puck, Sam, Mike, and Artie waited on the street corner for Rachel and Finn to come by. "Puck, where did you find the accordion?" Sam questioned.

Puck smiled slightly. "One of the other show choirs is doing a song with an accordion, and I was able to make a deal with them to borrow it for a couple hours."

Mike chuckled. "I don't want to know what kind of deal you had to make to get them to let you borrow an expensive instrument."

Puck rolled his eyes. Truthfully, all he had to do was bat his eyes at the girl and give her a peck on the cheek, and she agreed to whatever he asked of her.

"That was really nice of you to take me to Sarti's, Finn," the group heard Rachel's voice float around the corner.

"All right, guys….here we go," Puck murmured, watching Finn and Rachel stroll past.

As the boys started to serenade the pair, Rachel's ear perked up as she heard Puck's voice on lead. She found herself hugging Finn's arm, allowing Puck's clear tone to wash over her. When Finn stopped their walk and leaned in to kiss her, Rachel pulled back and said, "I'm sorry, Finn, I can't." Seeing the stunned lock on his face, Rachel backed away from Finn before rushing past the boys, trying to get back to the hotel quickly.

Finn turned his stunned gaze to the other four boys. "What just happened?"

Puck just shook his head. "I think she shut you down, dude."

Finn stared in disbelief, and then started walking back to the hotel.

The next morning, Puck was stunned when Rachel knocked on the door of the room he was sharing with Sam, Finn, and Artie. "Hey, babe. What's up?"

Rachel pushed her way past Puck into the room. "I just had the most wonderful morning. Kurt woke me up to go have breakfast at Tiffany's, and then we snuck into the Gershwin Theater and sang on the stage – "

"Wait a minute," Puck interrupted. "You snuck in somewhere you shouldn't have been? I guess I **am** a bad influence on you."

"Oh, please. Who sent Sunshine Corazon to a crack house?" Rachel retorted.

"All right, you're a badass," Puck teased. "What made you want to come back here and tell me all about your wonderful morning?"

Rachel smiled. "Because of what you did last night, and the experiences this morning, I realized that this is where I belong – here, in New York. Getting back with Finn would only keep me from realizing my dream."

Puck grinned. "Glad I could be of service, m'lady."

Rachel stopped him with a hand on his arm. "Noah…why did you suggest that Finn ask me out last night?"

Puck blushed, rubbing a hand over the top of his head. "After the past few weeks of working with you, I realized that you'd moved on from Finn, but saw that he still wasn't over you. I mean he broke up with Quinn at a funeral because he still thinks he's in love with you. I figured this little "date" may sort things out once and for all."

Rachel kissed him on the cheek. "What was that for?"

"Because you have helped me finally make the break from Finn. I know now that he'd never be happy here in New York, and I can't be happy **not** being in New York," Rachel explained.

"Rach, you'll be awesome here in New York. I know you're going to become this huge star and we'll all be so proud of you," Puck said.

"Okay, enough about Finn and all this…we have to go meet up with everyone and work on songs," Rachel stated, starting for the door.

"Rach, wait," Puck interrupted, grasping her arm to stop her forward momentum. "Can I play something for you real quick?"

"Of course you can!" Rachel squealed, clapping her hands.

Puck directed her to sit on the chair in the corner, and then sat himself on the bed. "It's a little rough, but…"

Rachel interrupted him. "That's okay…please let me hear it?"

Puck nodded, and Rachel settled back in the chair and closed her eyes, listening as Puck began to strum his guitar. She let Puck's baritone notes wash over her, and then straightened up when he got to the end of the first verse.

_"But I hold on, I stay strong  
Wondering if we still belong  
Will we ever say the words we're feeling  
Reach out underneath and tear down all the walls  
Will we ever have our happy ending  
Or will we forever only be pretending?"_

Rachel stared at Puck as he finished singing the chorus. As the note faded away, Puck questioned, "So…what do you think?"

"Noah…." Rachel sighed, getting up to sit next to him on the bed. "That was beautiful – where'd you get the idea?"

Puck cleared his throat. "Well, uh…I got some inspiration when we all were walking through Central Park. I came back later that afternoon and started writing the lyrics, and then the notes came easily after that."

"It's beautiful," Rachel sighed, smiling at him. "What's the meaning behind the song?"

Puck leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and his head cradled in his hands. "It's about this guy who is still interested in this girl he used to date, but isn't sure if she feels the same."

"Noah…why did this message strike a chord in you?" Rachel asked.

Puck straightened up, looking Rachel straight in the eye. "Rach…all these weeks working with you, spending time together – I started questioning why I broke up with you. I know that I can be a total smartass and a screw up, but…"

"Noah," Rachel admonished, clapping a hand over his mouth. "You are definitely not a screw up – yes, you've made some poor choices, but you've learned from your mistakes. You've also always been my biggest supporter, even when everyone else was against me."

Puck pulled her hand away from his face. "Rach…you've always believed in me, even if I didn't give you a reason to. I mean, I chose popularity over you – what an assholey move that was."

"Shh," Rachel soothed, rubbing the hand not in his grasp up and down his arm. "I understood why you did that…your reputation is an important part of who you are."

"Not at the expense of the best thing that could ever have happened to me!" Puck burst out, standing up and pacing the room.

Rachel gasped. "Noah – what are you saying?"

Puck stopped and knelt in front of Rachel. Cupping her cheek, he said, "You believed in me when I didn't believe in myself. That week we were together showed me the type of man I could be, and I liked who I saw. That's why I stuck with Glee even after we broke up. I was hoping I could continue to grow into that man I'd gotten brief glimpses of during the week."

"You have," Rachel reassured him. "Look at all you've accomplished. You have stood up for so many of us Gleeks – me, Kurt…I'm so proud of you."

"It's the least I could do after all the crap I've thrown at you – sometimes literally," Puck said.

"Noah, stop…that's in the past. Let's move forward to our future, okay?" Rachel suggested, squeezing his hand.

"And what does that future hold?" Puck questioned, looking directly into her eyes.

Rachel smiled. "Well, first of all, presenting this song to the rest of the club for consideration for our performance…then winning Nationals, and then returning to Lima and seeing what the future may hold for all of us."

"And what about the boy still interested in the girl?" Puck probed.

Rachel leaned in and briefly kissed him on the cheek. "She's willing to see where things may take them if he is."

Puck grinned, and then pushed a few wisps of hair away from Rachel's face. "Sounds like a good deal to me."

The two teens stood up, and Rachel left the room so Puck could get his things together, shooting a smile over her shoulder as she exited through the door. Puck shot both hands over his head in victory, glad that Rachel was willing to give him a second chance.

When the teens joined everyone in the other room, they learned from Tina that Mr. Schue was leaving them to go be a part of April Rhodes's new production. The news kept them from working on their songs until Mr. Schue joined them and announced he wasn't leaving. The mood of the group quickly lifted, and the group began to work on their songs. Puck shared his song with the others, who all agreed that the club should sing it with Finn and Rachel taking the lead. With that decision made, they were able to focus on writing their second song, which came about when Brittany made the passing comment about the lights of the city looking like they could light up the world.

Once they got their two songs written, they began to focus on their choreography. Pretending took no time at all, which allowed Brittany and Mike to really focus on the intricate footwork to go along with Light Up the World. The teens spent the next day completely focused on rehearsing their songs, not allowing for much down time.

The day of the first round of competition, the New Directions were nervous but excited to perform their original songs. Puck pulled Rachel to the side as the rest of the club gathered backstage.

"How you doing?" Puck questioned, squeezing her left hand with his right.

Rachel sighed, looking up into his caring brown eyes. "I'm okay, just ready to get this show going."

"You're going to be amazing," Puck reassured her, brushing her hair away from her face.

Rachel gave him one last smile, and then moved over to the side of the curtain she'd be entering from. Puck watched as Finn walked over and they had a short conversation before he walked back to his mark. Puck was tempted to check in on Rachel again, until the stage manager called for the performers to get to their places.

The teens moved into position, and listened as Rachel and Finn started off the song. Once the curtain went up to reveal the rest of the club, Puck watched as Rachel poured her whole heart into the performance, proud of how flawless her voice sounded. The crowd seemed to be enjoying the song, and as the song came to a close, Puck watched as Finn reached down to cup Rachel's face in his hand. Puck thought nothing of it until Finn leaned down and captured Rachel's lips with his own.

The stunned silence of the crowd was deafening. The entire club was frozen in shock, and it took one brave soul clapping from the audience to break the spell that had fallen over the New Directions and the club was able to move into position for the second song. Puck's expression never faltered, although his blood was boiling on the inside. What the **hell** had Finn been thinking?

Once the teens had performed Light Up the World, they exited the stage and returned to their green room. Mr. Schue was waiting for them there, and nothing about the kiss was mentioned. Rachel's eyes met Puck's from across the room, and his expression and clenched hands relaxed when she shot him a reassuring smile.

The club returned to the audience and watched the remaining clubs perform their songs, enjoying the variety of songs they heard. As they waited for the top ten to be revealed, the New Directions milled around the lobby, making small talk about what songs they'd heard and what souvenirs they wanted to purchase.

Puck observed everyone walking about the lobby with a detached smile, still internally seething over Finn's actions on stage. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he almost missed Finn cornering Rachel off to the side of the lobby. When he saw the two starting to converse, he moved over to the pair quietly, slipping behind Finn to overhear their conversation.

"That kiss was….interesting," Rachel stated, looking up at Finn.

"It was great," Finn responded, grasping both of Rachel's hands. "I got so caught up in the words of the song, which reminded me so much of us and how much we belong together…"

"Wait a minute," Rachel interrupted, stopping Finn's speech before Puck took action. "We are done, Finn. We've been done since you broke up with me, and being here in New York has helped reaffirm that New York is where I'm destined to be. There's nothing you can say or do that's going to change my mind about it."

Finn began to say something else, but Rachel calmly held her hand up and said, "No more, Finn. Now, if you'll excuse me, I believe they've just posted the top ten list." Rachel stalked off, leaving a stunned Finn standing next to Puck.

When the teens learned that they hadn't advanced to the next round, they returned to their hotel rooms in stunned silence. The minute they gathered in Santana, Quinn, and Brittany's room, however, Santana exploded. Hurling curses and epithets in Spanish toward Rachel, Brittany, Quinn, and Sam held Santana back as Puck pulled Rachel out of the room.

Once the couple had listened to the song a couple of times, they sat in silence in Puck's room, content with being in each other's presence without having to fill the room with conversation or other noise.

The next few days passed in a blur. The club returned to Lima and settled back into their daily routines. Rachel and Puck met each day after school to practice the song, wanting to perform it at the last glee meeting of the school year. In addition to their practicing, they spent additional time watching movies, cooking dinner for their families and learning about themselves as a couple.

When the club met in the choir room for the last meeting, the teens celebrated the club's twelfth place finish at Nationals with sparkling cider and a typical pep talk from Mr. Schuester. As he toasted the club, Rachel's hand shot in the air. "Mr. Schue?"

"Yes, Rachel?" he responded.

"Can I share something with the club?" she queried, smoothing her hands over her knees in anticipation.

"Of course you can!" Mr. Schue exclaimed, gesturing her to come up. As she made her way to the center of the room, Puck stood up to move over to the piano, giving Brad a break.

"I know that the past week or so has been crazy. I am just as disappointed as anyone in this room that we didn't make the top ten, because I am positive that we would've blown everyone away and returned with the trophy," Rachel began.

"Yeah, no thanks to you and Finnessa's lip lock," Santana muttered, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Contrary to some people's beliefs, I did not plan to kiss Finn on stage," Rachel continued. "I've realized a few things over the past couple of months, and I think that I've grown as an individual."

"What are you trying to say, Rachel?" Kurt pressed, seeing a full-blown "Rachel-rant" developing if he didn't step in.

"One of the things I've learned about myself has allowed me to begin looking closely at my future. I wanted to share a song whose words I think perfectly capture my message," Rachel explained, nodding at Puck to begin playing.

As the notes began to play, Rachel closed her eyes and took a deep breath. While exhaling, she opened her eyes and began to sing.

_I've found peace of mind, I'm feeling good again  
I'm on the other side, back among the living  
Ain't a cloud in the sky  
All my tears have been cried  
And I can finally say_

Rachel assessed the reactions of the club as she sang. She saw Kurt and Sam immediately catch onto the meaning, while Santana and Quinn looked a little puzzled. She looked at Finn, who had a beaming smile on his face, before glancing briefly at Puck before belting the chorus.

_Baby baby stay  
Stay right where you are  
I like it this way  
It's good for my heart  
I haven't felt like this  
In God knows how long  
I know everything's gonna be okay  
If you just stay gone_

She observed the confused look on Finn's face as she saw the realization come across a few other faces, including Mr. Schue. Santana had the biggest shit-eating grin on her face as Rachel continued with the second verse and chorus.

_I still love you and I will forever  
We can't hide the truth  
We know each other better  
When we try to make it work  
We both end up hurt  
It ain't supposed to be that way_

_ Baby baby stay  
Stay right where you are  
I like it this way  
It's good for my heart  
I haven't felt like this  
In God knows how long  
I know everything's gonna be okay  
If you just stay gone_

Tina flashed Rachel a quick thumbs-up, and Rachel made another quick glance at Puck. She worried that the words of that verse would encourage Puck's insecurities to resurface, but when she saw the tender look on his face and the way his eyes seemed to be diving into her soul, she flashed him a quick smile.

_When we try to make it work  
We both end up hurt  
Love ain't supposed to be that way_

_ So baby baby stay  
Stay right where you are  
I like it this way  
It's good for my heart  
I haven't felt like this  
In ooh in God knows how long  
I know everything's gonna be okay  
If you just stay gone_

Rachel saw the look of defeat cross Finn's face as she was singing the chorus for the last time. She observed him as he slumped back against the chair, sliding down as if he was trying to become invisible. She shot one final, comforting smile in his direction as she sang the final lines of the song.

_I know everything's gonna be okay  
If you just stay gone_

As the rest of the club applauded, Rachel did a brief curtsy and returned to her seat. She watched as Puck sauntered back to his chair, shooting her a surreptitious wink.

Mr. Schuester returned to the front of the room, thanking each of the club members for their hard work and dedication this year. He dismissed them all with a smile, and the members all scattered in various directions.

Rachel went to her locker, intent on putting her folder with all her ideas for Glee away. She had just put the folder inside when Puck came and leaned against the locker next to her.

"So…it looks like that went well," Puck stated, crossing his arms across his chest.

"I believe it did. Thank you again for the suggestion," Rachel said, grabbing what she needed for that evening and shutting her locker door

"No sweat," Puck assured her, giving her a sweet smile. "Guess Finn finally got the message."

"I suppose so," Rachel responded.

"Are you ready to go?" Puck asked, cocking his arm out for her to hook elbows with.

Rachel smiled, looping her arm through his. "Lead the way, Noah."

The two teens began walking out of the school, passing a stunned Finn as they went. "Wait a second…Rachel and **Puck**?!" Finn exclaimed, looking over at Mike.

"Remember what Rachel just said, Finn," Mike reminded him, slapping him on the back.

Finn watched helplessly as Rachel and Puck walked out of McKinley. Remembering the words sung just a short time before, Finn sighed before muttering, "I just have to stay gone."

Song lyrics:

Pretending (Glee Cast)

Stay Gone (Jimmy Wayne)


End file.
